A proposal to this effect has been drafted by the Sport and Youth Welfare Department and is awaiting nod of the State Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Manohar Joshi who also handles the Sport and Youth Welfare portfolio.

It is reliably learnt that the Higher and Technical Education and Medical Education Departments of the State Government, which control admissions to engineering and medical colleges, have cleared the proposal. Certain queries from the Co-Operation Department about reserving jobs in co-operative sugar and cotton mills for sportsmen are being sorted out at ministerial level, it is understood.

Presently, such quota is maintained at schools and university affiliated collegesstatewide. Many corporate houses in Mumbai and organisations like the Railways and Air-India employ sportsmen and field their own teams in different tournaments. However, not all players from across the State are fortunate enough to get employed at these places. If the said proposal ever sees the light of the day, it will be a boon for hundreds of national and state level players.

The government, however, will maintain strict quality control while showering benefits on those slogging it out on the playfields and courts. Participation in recognised national and state level sports competitions or tournaments will be the sole and strict criteria for availing of the reservation facility. There will not be any differentiation between sportsmen playing an individual or team sport. The list of games which would fall in this privileged category is under consideration as there is a strong opposition to include ``the much pampered'' game of cricket in it, according to government officials.

When it comes toemployment on basis of sports, the government is thinking of making it mandatory for the employer to see to it that the player keeps on playing the game for a few years instead of confining himself to work alone. After some years, such employees can impart sports training to their colleagues and spread the spirit of the game, it is being proposed.

The brain behind the scheme and Minister of State for Sport and Youth Welfare, Pratap Jadhav told The Indian Express that such measures would promote sportsmen to fully devote themselves to the game.

``If a player loses his energy seeking admission to a college or hunting for a job, how can he or she perform on the ground? As we want our players to excel at the international level, we will bring in these changes. Apart from this we will computerise and interlink all sport associations statewide, to be with the changing times.

``At schools, we will encourage the physical education teachers to teach students different games instead of routine mass drills.Our department will also see to it that different civic bodies statewide spend five per cent amount of their annual budget on sport related activities -- a rule to this effect already exists,'' Jadhav said. He added that he was open to queries and suggestions on all Wednesdays between 3 and 4 pm.